


Welcome To The Lodge At Fallen Leaves

by backinthebox



Series: Welcome To The Lodge At Fallen Leaves [2]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-24
Updated: 2016-02-24
Packaged: 2018-05-23 01:17:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6100111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/backinthebox/pseuds/backinthebox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Barden Bellas were imploding and the retreat was supposed to help. Operative words being "supposed to".</p><p>Extended scenes from the Pitch Perfect 2 movie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to The Lodge at Fallen Leaves

**Author's Note:**

> This compiles Track In On This Feeling, These Hands Are Meant To Hold and This Is Not Better from ff.net. 
> 
> It would be a mess otherwise, so I migrated them from ff.net because I wanted the stories to be easier to follow for readers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Implied smut, if that's a thing.

"Bear traps?!"

Aubrey looked up calmly from her desk, to regard the tall brunette who had just barged into her office without even knocking. "You should be with the rest of your group, you know."

"You eye-sex me while you're yelling at us, then you spring the fact that you put in bear traps?"

"I figured it would be inappropriate to make out with you right there." Aubrey pointed out.

Stacie glared at her, closing the door behind her and locking it. Aubrey's staff knew her, and knew who she was, but she _was_ yelling at their boss. "Bear traps?"

"We hardly ever have actual bears in them, don't worry." Aubrey waved her hand. She leaned back and smiled at the other girl. "You look pretty."

"Oh, no no no, Aubrey Posen. You do not get to compliment me." Stacie shook her head. "I don't recall bear traps being part of your plans for this place."

"Or we were too busy doing it in the primal scream therapy cabin for you to have noticed." Aubrey pointed out.

Stacie paused, and smiled fondly at the memory of the soundproof structure that she and Aubrey had spent a ridiculous amount of time in, when she had come to visit the Lodge over the summer. She shook her head, as if to clear it, and turned back to glaring at her girlfriend. "You put bear traps." Stacie enunciated. "Bear. Traps."

"I told you—"

"And you greeted us with a shotgun?" Stacie reminded.

"Some jerks decided they were too good for trust exercises."

Stacie gaped at her. She knew Aubrey had mellowed out some since they first started dating, but she was also aware of the flares in temper that happened with the blonde. "You shot—?"

"What? No." Aubrey waved off the alarm in Stacie's expression. "I challenged them to shooting skeet. Guess who won't have to deal with unruly overage frat boys for the rest of the week." She pointed at herself. "This girl."

"And then you tell me I'm sharing a tent with everyone?"

"Technically I told everyone. I can't play favorites, you know that."

"Everyone knows we're in a relationship!"

"All the more reason."

Stacie pointed at her. "You're going to regret this, you know that, right?"

Aubrey leaned back in her seat, and gestured at the air conditioned cabin that served as the crew's main office. "Am I, Stacie? Will I, really?"

"You remember the sex that we're never going to have again?" Stacie reminded.

"Stacie, I love you, but I don't see how that threatens me more than you." Aubrey pointed out.

"Oh, I have my ways." Stacie countered. She added, "I love you too, but don't test me, Posen."

Aubrey shrugged. "I _was_ going to offer you accommodations for the evening, once your teammates were asleep, but if you're bandying about threats — threats to withhold sex, especially — then I don't see why I should help you."

Stacie raised an eyebrow.

Aubrey met her stare evenly.

Stacie groaned, throwing her hands up in surrender. "Fine. But I don't see why you couldn't have offered us one of the deluxe tents, or two. I don't want to be in the same confined space when Beca has her meltdown."

"Did you see her hug me before anyone else?" Aubrey noted, pushing her chair away from her desk as Stacie walked around the desk to stand in front of her. "What's going on?"

Stacie shook her head. "I don't really know anymore. Beca's imploding, and Chloe's channeling you from three years ago, and Emily's trying too hard to prove herself."

"And you?"

"Me?" Stacie pointed at herself. "My girlfriend is making me stay in a tent with nine other girls not named Aubrey Posen, while she either stays in the staff's comfy cabin or drive to her cozy apartment. I'm pissed off, is what I am."

Aubrey looked up at her. "Where do your teammates think you are, right now?"

"Does it matter?"

"One of the points of the retreat is to do everything together, Stacie." Aubrey told her.

"My girlfriend — who I hardly see anymore because you need to talk to your best friend, seriously — is finally an unmarked booby-trapped walk away." Stacie retorted. "I think I can be forgiven for a few minutes of non-bonding time."

"You really shouldn't leave the path." Aubrey noted.

"And I am not going to be subjected to your extremely bossy quirks, Aubrey."

"You know, I _did_ tell you I wasn't going to pull punches to get you guys your sound back." Aubrey reminded.

"Well, I said I was going to do whoever it takes to get us back to the top." Stacie countered.

"I suppose we find ourselves at an impasse." Aubrey noted.

"I guess so." Stacie remarked.

The two engaged in a glaring match, willing the other to be the first to break.

Even if they both knew their individual stands were actually in line with each other's goals.

In the next instant, Aubrey was out of her chair and stood between Stacie's legs, the taller girl seated on the desk with her hands pulling Aubrey closer by her now-unbuttoned top.

"Fuck, you know I find it hot when you yell at people." Stacie muttered between fervent kisses, trying — unsuccessfully — to untie the knot of Aubrey's scarf to gain access to her neck. Giving up, she pushed off Aubrey's top to rake her nails down the blonde's back. "Fuck I've missed you."

"I miss you too." Aubrey slid one hand to cup the back of Stacie's neck, pulling her closer, as her other hand strayed to the other girl's leg, pulling it up to wrap around her waist. "But you're really breaking the rules here, babe."

"Does it count if I'm breaking them with the one who — shit, right there — makes the rules?" Stacie returned, tilting her head back to let Aubrey trace a line of kisses up her neck. "And you knew I'd notice you undid one too many buttons on your shirt."

"You're to talk." Aubrey whispered huskily, taking a playful bite on Stacie's earlobe before returning to her lips. "Wearing a tank _and_ a skirt?"

"I missed my girlfriend."

Aubrey smiled, one hand gliding up Stacie's thigh, slipping under the hem of the skirt in question. "And you know I love easy access."


	2. This Is Not Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aubrey and Beca, picking up where Mixing The Bitter With The Sweet left off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follows the Back to Basics scene in the second movie. With major references to Mixing the Bitter With the Sweet. Mentioned Staubrey, and hints of one-sided Bechloe.

Beca was on her way back to the tent that the Barden Bellas were staying in while they were marooned in The Lodge at Fallen Leaves, when her arm was forcibly grabbed, and she was dragged across the campsite away from the rest of her fellow Barden Bellas. "Ow! What the mother—"

"Don't." Aubrey said menacingly, continuing to pull her further away from the Bellas camp.

"Aubrey, what is your damage?" Beca demanded, trying unsuccessfully to pull her arm away from Aubrey's grip.

"Keep yelling, and I'm gonna toss you into another bear trap. You want that, Samwise?"

"Does that make you Legolas, or Aragorn?" Beca asked.

"That makes me the girl that isn't pleased with you right now." Aubrey replied.

"Yeah, okay, but how am I the sidekick?"

"Well, you're definitely not good enough to be Frodo." Aubrey noted. "I can call you Pippin or Merry."

"Sam is fine." Beca said quickly.

Neither of them mentioned why they were familiar with names of characters from The Lord of the Rings.

Finally, they got to a clearing that Beca correctly surmised was a golfing range, judging from the giant net on one side, where there wasn't a single soul within at least a twenty-foot radius. Beca momentarily feared for her life.

Aubrey released her. "What's going on?"

Beca gave her a wary look. "How could you have missed all the yelling that happened earlier?"

"I missed the part where you explain why Chloe's at the center of all your misplaced aggression."

Beca grimaced. "That's not…"

"No? That wasn't you, yelling at Chloe earlier?"

"She yelled at me, too!" Beca countered.

Aubrey gave her a pointed look. "Like I care that someone yelled at you."

"I care!" Beca said defensively.

Okay, she actually kind of cared, too, but Aubrey was still disappointed that something she'd hoped would finally come out of the Chloe-Beca showdown hadn't been revealed, and she needed to vent in productive ways. Hence, Beca. "We had a deal, Beca."

"The 'deal' did not include Chloe having a breakdown because Fat Amy chooses not to wear underwear." Beca argued, recalling her own promise to Aubrey, three years ago, that she and the rest of the Bellas would look out for Chloe in Aubrey's absence. Their presence in The Lodge at Fallen Leaves was a testament to the failure of said promise.

"Yes, let's discuss why you're letting your members walk around without their underwear."

Beca paused, and eyed Aubrey critically. "Really? The girl dating Stacie and banged her girlfriend mere hours of our arrival wants to complain about Bellas not wearing underwear?"

Aubrey stopped short, and conceded that point, but quickly recovered. "National television, Beca! In front of the President."

"Yeah, that… That wasn't one of our best moments." Beca agreed.

Aubrey scoffed. "You think?"

"It was a mistake! Why can't people just get over that!" Beca exclaimed, annoyed at the fact that her entire experience with the Barden Bellas were being overruled by a single mistake, and a mistake that wasn't even her fault. She loathed the fact that she even needed to expound on that point. "This is more than just about underwear and singing, Aubrey!"

" _I know,_ " Aubrey reminded. "And you know I know. Why do you think you're here?"

"It's not to suffer your own special brand of psycho!" Beca retorted.

"You're just butt-hurt because you were the one who was in a bear trap." Aubrey waved off Beca's accusation dismissively.

"About that," Beca gave her a look of incredulity. " _Bear traps?_ "

"And have I mentioned the part where you insulted my methods of team-building?" Aubrey continued.

"None of those songs were going to win us Worlds!" Beca snapped.

"And us singing Just the Way You Are and Just A Dream won us the ICCAs?" Aubrey reminded.

Beca stalled on her next indignant protest, and frowned. "That was different."

"How?" Aubrey questioned.

"We were rediscovering what the Bellas sound was!" Beca pointed out. She glared at Aubrey. "You making us sing show tunes is most definitely _not_ helping us find our sound."

"Okay, fine. But have you been listening to Let's Talk-Appella at all lately?" Aubrey shot back. "Because I have. And, I don't know, _Beca_ , dare we discuss the matter of your most recent disastrous performance?"

"That's… not my fault." Beca protested.

"You're Bellas captain."

She didn't know why Aubrey thought she needed to be told, as if the pressure she was under wasn't enough of a constant reminder. "So is Chloe but I don't see you yelling at her."

"I'll get to Chloe later. Right now, I'm thinking I need to deal with you." Aubrey rubbed her temples with her fingers, grimacing, before she focused on Beca. "You're not doing breakdowns anymore."

"Everyone knows their—" Beca began, but was cut short by Aubrey raising her hand in a 'stop' gesture.

"I know everyone knows their parts, Beca, the girls are very good at their parts. But a cappella is more than that." Aubrey pointed out. "It's not just having fun, singing in harmony with your friends."

Beca started to protest, but then closed her mouth shut, realizing what Aubrey was driving at: the Bellas all knew their parts, and improvisation worked well for them, but they had become complacent in their abilities. For the past few years the road to the ICCA finals had been about fun, about winning, and now that they weren't invincible anymore, they were floundering.

"It's worked for three years." Beca argued softly.

"It's been working." Aubrey agreed. "But at one point you, as a group, decided that you needed Fat Amy in suspension singing Wrecking Ball."

"Okay, that was an obvious error in judgment." Beca acquiesced.

"More to the point," Aubrey breezed right through, "The Bellas are great. And you were a major part in getting them to where they are now. But someone somewhere lost the plot, and the _show_ became more important than the performance."

"Isn't that the important thing?" Beca asked weakly, even though she didn't really believe it, either.

Because the answer was 'No', and they both knew it. There had been a reason why their first few rehearsals back in the day had been about the fundamentals, the breakdown of each part, until they had that down to the point that Aubrey and Chloe would bring them together as a unified whole. In hindsight, Beca couldn't remember the last time that the Bellas spent an entire rehearsal period just working on the basics.

"The Bellas who needed studded costumes and elaborate stunts won't win Worlds against DSM." Aubrey reminded. "You would all have vilified me if I'd made you do that three years ago."

True. And they probably would have found some enjoyment in vilifying Aubrey for the sake of it.

Beca looked away, unable to look Aubrey in the eye because just as she'd questioned Aubrey relentlessly during the older girl's tenure as Bellas captain, it sucked to be on the receiving end of a similar barrage of questions. Beca realized idly that she was understanding why people said karma was a bitch.

"Beca?" Aubrey asked carefully, her voice gentle. "Do you want to win Worlds?"

Beca jumped, startled at the inquiry, but mostly because of the nature of the question. "What?"

"Do you want to win Worlds?" Aubrey repeated.

"The Bellas–"

"Not the Bellas. _You_. Does _Beca Mitchell_ want to win Worlds?"

Beca shrugged, and sighed. "I guess."

Aubrey looked at her for a long moment, obviously trying to get an accurate read on the smaller girl, before she sighed and shook her head. "This is worse than expected."

"I just…" Beca shook her head, and paused. "This is weird, talking to you."

"I feel your pain." Aubrey acknowledged, returning the sentiment.

"I just want to graduate on a high, OK? I want the girls to go out winners, for Emily to have the taste for victory, for Chloe to get what she wants so she can finally just _graduate_." Beca finally voiced out. "And she wants to win Worlds, and it turns out I'm great at mashups for collegiate a cappella, but not good enough to become a professional record producer, and DSM are like real professionals, and I don't know how I can make this happen. And I know, I _know_ , if I can just figure out how to make one thing work, I can figure the rest out, but I have nothing. _Nothing_ , Aubrey. I'm stuck, and we're here, and, oh my God, I'm sharing feelings with you, and this is not how I saw this weekend panning out." She stopped to take a deep breath, and noticed Aubrey checking her phone. "Seriously?"

Aubrey glanced up at her. "Are you done?"

"Are you getting internet here, because you need to figure out your connectivity issues." Momentarily distracted, Beca also took out her phone, and frowned at the lack of a signal. She reached for Aubrey's, but the blonde pulled her phone out of reach.

Aubrey gave her a grim smile, pocketing her phone. "Focus. You have to want to win Worlds for yourself."

"I want to win Worlds." Beca said defensively.

"Do you, really? Because nothing you just said tells me that you actually do. Those girls are bending over backwards, working their butts off, and you can't even find the time to tell them they have to cover your slack."

"I'm not—" Beca began, then stopped, then tried again. "I don't want to let them down, OK? I know how much this means to them, and…" She groaned. "You managed! You had an internship, and were on the Dean's List, and you were getting us through the ICCAs. That worked out."

Aubrey frowned as she considered that statement thoughtfully. "You and I remember that year very differently."

Beca shook her head and explained. "Sure, you neared a nervous breakdown and the Bellas got to the finals on a technicality, but you were our leader. You kept us together pretty OK, even if you weren't. I'm just trying to do the same thing."

Aubrey sighed and glanced away, gazing out to the tree line as she thought about what Beca was telling her, remembering aspects of the time Beca was referring to, and trying to think back on how she'd felt, when she had been captain of the Barden Bellas and very nearly cost all of them everything. She returned her gaze to Beca. "Do you remember that day I showed you the Bella house?"

Beca gave her a wry look. _Of course_ she remembered. "When you told me I could have been living all year in a house with my friends instead of the icy hatred of Kimmy Jin?"

Aubrey returned the look. "When I told you not to screw up as Bellas captain."

Properly chastised, Beca looked down. "You said teams take on the characteristics of their leaders."

"I told you you were gonna have to stop being _Beca_ and be someone better." Aubrey added. She motioned to Beca, who still had twigs and leaves in her hair from her earlier encounter with the bear trap. " _This_ is not 'better'."

"I know!" Beca exclaimed in annoyance. "I _know_ , OK? I'm trying, but this? Worlds? DSM? I don't know how, and I can't… They're looking to me, and _I don't_ _know_."

Aubrey sighed, familiar with that feeling of helplessness, and figured she could at least try and help Beca figure a few things out. "Okay. One at a time. Tell me about DSM."

"What, Stacie hasn't given you the full profile on all things Das Sound Machine and how much they can kick our ass?" Beca retorted.

"Her opinions on DSM are different from yours. I want to hear yours."

Beca sighed, and threw her hands up. "They're… DSM. World champions, back-to-back. Kommissar is… _incredible_ , Pieter holds his own, their beatboxer is out of this world. Their set? It's textured, and their transitions are amazing, like you don't even realize it's a remix or mashup. And then when they sing it's just, like, a wall of sound. Like, a literal _wall_."

"Can't break through it?"

Beca shook her head. "If I had more people, probably, but…"

"Mm-hmm. Yeah, can't help you with that. Stacie says we're still years away from successful human cloning." Aubrey crossed her arms across her chest and looked down thoughtfully.

Beca glanced at her. "Okay, no human cloning. Given the current team, what do you suggest?"

Aubrey gave her a weary look.

Beca sighed, accepting the gentle rebuke, remembering and repeating Aubrey's words earlier. "Break things down before building them back up again." She looked away, gazing past Aubrey to where she could see the tent where the Bellas were staying.

It had been so simple, that day in the Dean's office: Compete at the World Championships of A Cappella, win it, be reinstated to the ICCAs. They had won the ICCAs for three straight years, broken new ground and set records, winning Worlds had seemed like an easy feat to achieve. But since that day, everything they had known, everything they were as the Barden Bellas, had given way to their insecurities and their doubts. Beca's words, that there were other important things, things like school, jobs and _life_ , had imposed itself into their heretofore simple and idealistic lives.

The fact that if they didn't win Worlds, that the Bellas would be completely disbanded, was a lot to carry around.

Because the Barden Bellas had given her a camaraderie, a group of friends she hadn't known she'd wanted or needed, and knew that most of the girls felt the same way. And if the only way to ensure that the Bellas lived on, that the legacy and sisterhood continued even after they graduated, was to win the World Championships?

"Of course I want to win Worlds." Beca stated quietly, a soft declaration that was also partly an epiphany.

"Good."

Beca turned to Aubrey.

Aubrey shrugged. "Because, you know, as terrible as it would be if the Bellas don't get reinstated, and stop being eligible to compete at the ICCAs, it doesn't have to be the end of the Barden Bellas. We can fight the ruling on total disbandment, and The High Notes and BU Harmonics sing for the fun of it."

Beca stared at her, wondering who or what this Aubrey-looking _thing_ in front of her was, and admitted, "You're kind of freaking me out right now: that shit actually sounds comforting."

"Is it working?"

Beca considered. "Little bit."

Aubrey nodded. "Good, because I'm totally lying. If the Bellas don't get reinstated I'm giving the alumni your phone number."

Beca frowned, her expression reflecting the fact that she'd never received a single phone call from the Bellas alumni.

Aubrey noticed. "Have you and Chloe never tried to get in touch with the alumni?"

"Are we allowed to do that?"

"It's on the board!"

The same board that outlined the building blocks to a cappella success for the Barden Bellas and blatantly stated "NO TREBLES" under the relationship block.

"I try not to look at the board!"

Aubrey stared at her, and briefly wondered if strangling Beca was worth the effort, but ultimately decided to let the matter pass for the moment. "Why aren't you asking for help?"

"I don't know." Beca admitted, defeated. "Everyone has so much on their plate. I know I was being unfair earlier, accusing them that I'm the only one thinking of life after the Bellas. It just feels like it sometimes." She sighed. "I want to win, I do, but… I don't know how, and I don't want to fail."

"The how…" Aubrey paused. She didn't have the answer to that, either.

"And then there's Chloe, and she acts like, I don't know, like the Bellas are the only thing she has, which is ridiculous because she has so much to offer, and I just want to do _this one thing_ , and maybe she can finally figure out what she wants and graduate." Beca shook her head. "She's counting on the Worlds, the Bellas are everything to her, and I don't know what she'll do if we screw up."

"Beca. We all join the Barden Bellas for our own reasons." Aubrey reminded. "This, what you're all going through right now? Maybe some of them want to leave college on a high, or create a Bella legacy, or even have one last victory for the Barden Bellas, _something_."

"Chloe talks about it like it's do or die."

"I know." Aubrey shook her head. "I think Chloe needs it to justify why she's been in college for so long, which…" Aubrey let her voice trail off, because the Chloe Beale dilemma was a whole other issue she needed to deal with.

Beca looked up at her, knowing full well the goings-on of the Aubrey/Chloe situation. "She misses you, you know."

Aubrey smiled weakly, and nodded. "I miss her too. I just… I'm not sure where we are right now, and what to say to her, after everything and given what's going on."

"Maybe she's the one who needs to talk?" Beca suggested. "I mean, just a guess. But we see her every day and it's only since this disaster started that she actually admitted she failed Russian Lit three times on purpose."

Aubrey scoffed. "Russian Lit."

"I mean, I know the Bellas are important, but…"

Aubrey paused as Beca's words registered, and she turned and stared at Beca. "Really?"

Beca hesitated, then nodded. "Uh, yeah. When we had our meeting with the Dean and were told we couldn't compete at the collegiate level."

Aubrey shook her head, but her gaze remained focused on Beca. "You really think this is about the Bellas?"

"Yeah, and you told me as much, remember?" Beca reminded, uncomfortable under Aubrey's scrutiny. "Joy of performing, or whatnot."

Aubrey stared at her for a longer beat, before she shook her head again and looked away, as if she couldn't stand the sight of Beca.

Beca was confused at the dismissive action. Was she missing something? "What?"

"I'll deal with Chloe." Aubrey finally declared, focusing her gaze on the Bellas tent, mentally gathering the courage and strength of will to do as she said. "Figure this out. But as for your other problem? Your future career prospect?"

"Yeah?"

Aubrey spared her a glance. "You're screwed."

"Thanks." Beca said wryly, wondering why she had actually expected words of wisdom from Aubrey Posen.

"And you need to stop."

"I can't just—"

"Beca." Aubrey cut in. "Just stop."

"If you tell me to take a deep breath, I swear, I'll—"

"Still unable to follow directions?" Aubrey asked wearily. "Although, I don't know why I'm surprised, you literally walked into a bear trap earlier."

"Screw you, Aubrey."

"Shut up, I'm about to give you career advice."

"From the girl who quit a six-figure annual salary to run a glorified spa?" Beca retorted.

Aubrey held up a hand to cut off Beca's protests, because she knew full well that both she and Beca were compelled to have the last word on everything. "Beca: You do mixes and mashups. There isn't a shortage of parties and clubs who will pay for you to do just that. But you're talented; Maybe you don't have a clue of what your sound is now, but you will. But it'll take more than just you sitting in front of _your_ laptop and listening to _your_ mixes to figure that out. Every DJ who became a record producer became famous when they found someone they could work with. There are a lot of DJs who found their sound only after an artist they made a mix for wanted to start working with them."

Beca gave her a confused look. "You only listen to pop radio, sometimes from the time before _actual_ radio. How do you even know any of that?"

"I did a consultancy for a record company before. I had to study their portfolio and history before I met them."

"Really?" Beca asked in disbelief.

"Bet you wish you were nicer to me just now, don't you."

Beca hesitated, then started to move forward for a hug.

Aubrey swiftly moved away. "Don't touch me. I know what we put on those leaves to distract the bears if they get caught."

Beca froze, then stared down at herself before she looked up and stared at her. "Are you kidding me right now?"

Aubrey glanced at her watch. "Look at the time. Have to go."

"No, dude, what's in those leaves?" Beca asked, alarmed, as Aubrey walked past her to leave. "Just honey and stuff, right?"

"Get back to your group, Beca." Aubrey waved her hand over her shoulder, dismissing Beca's curiosity and indignation. "And watch for those bear traps."

"Aubrey!"


	3. These Hands Are Meant To Hold (A Fireside Talk)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe and Aubrey, before the campfire scene of PP2.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by Electronis Zappa's Fireside Chat.

"It's not that I don't understand why you don't want to leave the Bellas," Aubrey said softly, taking a sip from the cup of (very spiked, very Irish) coffee she held in her hands. "I just don't understand why you would stall your own life for three years just to stay."

Chloe sighed. She knew the conversation had been a long time coming, since she had been avoiding every and any one-on-one time with Aubrey since the _second_ time she had failed Russian Lit and stayed at Barden. Except for the rare exception, she and Aubrey hadn't really spent much time together in recent memory. Because just as she knew Aubrey to the letter, Aubrey knew how Chloe worked. However, with Beca's recent emotional withdrawal and the Bellas all working towards graduation, Chloe had realized how much she had missed talking to her best friend, which was why she had relented when Aubrey invited her to sit at the campfire. But that question? "You think I haven't asked myself that question every day for the past few years?"

"I'm sure you have." Aubrey answered. "So my next question is, what answers have you come up with?"

Chloe shook her head, glancing away from her best friend's knowing gaze and directing her own to the camp house beside the fire pit. "I don't know." She finally turned back to Aubrey. "I'm not like you. I didn't plan my entire future up to the last detail, that every step was heading somewhere."

"You know that isn't true."

"Yeah, the 'running a retreat' thing is still a surprise, but you own your own business and make a lot of money. That was the plan, right?" Chloe asked.

"Plans change."

"But I bet your girlfriend didn't mind this particular change of plans." Chloe pointed out. "At least you got the girl."

Aubrey narrowed her eyes at her. "So this is about Beca. _Again_. As usual."

"Aubrey."

"Chloe, you're..." Aubrey exhaled. "You're one of the best people I know. Top two, probably."

"Stacie wins top spot?"

"No, you're tied, because she can be really selfish but we both like her being on top."

Chloe laughed at that, because that kind of innuendo just spoke of Stacie's influence on Aubrey, and it was always nice to see Aubrey less guarded than she usually was.

"The point is," Aubrey digressed, "you've always drawn people to you. You're kind, and generous, and-"

"And some day my prince will come." Chloe interrupted. "This isn't just about Beca, Aubrey."

"You say that, but is that really true?" Aubrey glared pointedly at her. "And I did an actual course on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, do you want me to start using that?"

"Seriously?"

"It was one of the requirements."

Chloe shook her head. "No, I think I'd prefer talking to my best friend, thanks."

"Then you really need to, how did the troll put it? 'Sack up, dude.'"

Chloe laughed again. "You really shouldn't be saying those words."

"The point." Aubrey pointed at her. "Is that you deserve better than to time-share the hobbit with a Treblemaker. He never understood her the way you did, and I don't know how much times have changed, but you would never have let her unravel like this."

"I don't know, I've been pretty stressed." Chloe admitted.

"Because you've somehow convinced yourself that the fate and future of the Bellas rest on your shoulders." Aubrey reminded. "And, I know I helped make you think that, when we were captains, but that girl Emily's a Legacy. She knows the Bellas, she knows what it means. You've got to start letting things go."

Chloe gave her a sad smile. "But you left."

Aubrey frowned, confused.

"When you graduated. I let you leave, and," Chloe shrugged. "You just never came back."

"Chloe..."

"I know, not literally, I mean you'd drop by to see Stacie, but we stopped having, you know, _this_ ," Chloe motioned to the two of them as they were now, sitting together, alone and actually _talking_.

"And that's my fault?" Aubrey asked defensively.

"When you and Stacie started dating, you two made arrangements, plans on when and where you'd meet." Chloe argued. "When you graduated we didn't even set a standing Skype date."

"Yeah, because I'm neglectful and she's flighty." Aubrey protested. "If we had plans - set plans - it was a constant reminder that there were two of us in the relationship."

"You were my best friend!"

"And I would do anything for you!" Aubrey declared. She shook her head. "I let you take Beca into the Bellas, against all my better judgment - and thank God that worked out. But we're _family_ , Chloe. You and me, remember?"

Chloe smiled faintly. "Chaubrey forever."

"Chaubrey forever." Aubrey agreed. "Stacie and I have standing dates because that's just how our relationship works. But I would have been on a plane to see you the minute you asked me to. Just because I wasn't around didn't mean I was gone." She gave Chloe a pointed look. "And don't think I've forgotten who's been avoiding me and my calls for nearly two years running."

Chloe looked away guiltily. "What? Who? I don't know what you're talking about."

It was true, though, whether or not she admitted it. When Aubrey and Stacie started dating, and Aubrey made the occasional trip back to Barden, it had been on Chloe's second year of her extended stay at Barden; and if Aubrey had been disappointed in the fact that Chloe had deliberately failed Russian Lit during their senior year, they both hadn't known what to say to each other regarding the fact that Chloe hadn't tried much harder the second time around. The fact that the Bellas now gave more credence to Aubrey's role as Stacie's girlfriend than as Chloe's best friend was enough proof of how they had both allowed their friendship to wane in the succeeding years.

"Let's be honest, we were both surprised when you finally asked me for help about Worlds." Aubrey said.

"Yeah, because you wouldn't commit to helping because you were 'busy'." Chloe made air quotes with her fingers.

"I just didn't see how I could have helped." Aubrey admitted. "My taste in music's been described as straight-up white-girl radio with a cross-section of musical theater; and you were always the one who came up with choreography. I can put the fear of aca-gods into them, but how far would that have brought you?"

"But you came through."

"Because Stacie called me up to complain that an aca-dictator had taken over Chloe Beale's body." Aubrey told her. "And then there were emails from Fat Amy. And Cynthia Rose. And Ashley. And Jessica. Even Lilly complained. Trust me, when Ashley and Jessica _both_ email to complain that someone's being a psychotic dictator, having known me at my finest dictatorial form, then you know there's a problem."

"And what do you think?"

"The same thing my own best friend told me three years ago." Aubrey smiled faintly. "Maybe someone needs to loosen the reins a little bit."

"Really? Not tell me to get my head out of my ass because it isn't a hat?" Chloe retorted.

"That too. But Chloe, seriously. You could pass Russian Lit any given day. Failing it's funny once, maybe-but-not-really twice, but three times, and heading for a fourth? You're better than that." Aubrey said softly. "And if the emotional paralysis still won't leave you alone, you can have a job here, we'll set up something for you."

"It's not so much the emotional- wait." Chloe looked at her, curiously. "Here? Really?"

"It's not teaching music to children, but we do need nightly entertainment around here. How's your exotic dancing?" Aubrey quipped, laughing when Chloe shoved her. "Hey!"

"You can't pay me enough." Chloe remarked. "Frankly, I'm surprised your counselors haven't been formed into an a cappella group."

Aubrey smiled. "Drunken campfire singing doesn't really lend itself to seamless harmonies."

"Who's drunk?" Fat Amy asked, coming up to them, trailed by the rest of the Barden Bellas. "I could use some buzz."

"We don't serve alcohol to paying guests until their last day." Aubrey informed her. She turned when she felt a familiar hand rest on her shoulder and squeezed, and she smiled at Stacie as the younger girl walked past to sit on a chair.

"That still blows my mind." Ashley muttered audibly to Jessica, then ducked behind the blonde when she saw Aubrey glare at her.

"This is kind of a private-" Aubrey saw Emily holding a bag of marshmallows, and sighed in defeat. She really wasn't about to disappoint and demoralize a Legacy. "Oh, marshmallows. Yay."

"S'mores, actually." Emily said, gesturing to Lilly, who carried the chocolate and crackers.

"Of course." Aubrey allowed. She took another sip of her coffee.

Chloe squeezed her arm in a silent gesture of gratitude for allowing the rest of the group to join their campfire talk. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Well, the tent got really boring." Cynthia Rose admitted.

"We really thought you'd at least let us sleep on actual beds," Jessica agreed. "With the day we had, and everything."

"We're fully booked." Aubrey smiled apologetically. "It was a tent or the gym."

Stacie gave her another 'WTF?' look, the both of them knowing there were better tents than the one the Bellas were staying in; a look which she ignored.

"What were you talking about?" Fat Amy asked, as Chloe handed out skewers for them to roast marshmallows with.

"Chloe's hat." Aubrey deadpanned, making Chloe throw her a disbelieving look.

"I know what you mean." Beca agreed. "It's just too hard wearing too many hats, you know?"

"And you have such a tiny head." Aubrey commented.

"As opposed to your over-inflated one." Beca returned.

It was a testament to the growth of their friendship that Aubrey took that one without retaliation, and merely raised her cup in concession.

"It's just everything's changing so fast and I'm putting this much pressure on myself, you know?" Beca continued. "I don't want to fail."

Aubrey glanced at Chloe, who was watching Beca. How the girl who had joined the Bellas without a care in the world ended up caring about so many things, Aubrey knew, could be blamed almost entirely on the redhead who cared about everyone.

Aubrey knew because Chloe had done the exact same thing before, with a girl who only cared about her own goals and ambition, but made - _forced_ her, really - to care about a group of misfit freshmen (and Denise).

When Chloe confessed to being scared, Aubrey couldn't help but feel bad that with Chloe's earlier confession, Aubrey had played a part in instilling that fear, that she'd never reached out to Chloe to tell her that life after Barden wasn't so bad, that there were a lot of good things in the world outside.

So _maybe_ she'd squeezed Chloe's arm a little too tightly in her attempt at reassurance.

As everyone talked about their post-graduation plans, Aubrey cut a glance across the fire, and met familiar green eyes with a knowing gaze.

Aubrey knew Chloe wasn't the only one she owed a talk to about the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Aubrey/Chloe friendship in Pitch Perfect means everything to me, clearly.


	4. Nothing's How It Used To Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aubrey and Stacie talk about the (immediate) future.

After they had managed to get Amy down from the bear trap — courtesy of Lilly again — the Barden Bellas decided to call it a night, heading back towards their tent and were honestly too tired to even keep up the complaining about sleeping on the ground after the day they'd had.

They were halfway there when Chloe stopped abruptly, causing Stacie to nearly collide into her, as the redhead turned back towards the fire pit. "I should help Aubrey clean up." It was her, after all, who had quietly insisted on letting the Bellas crash her talk with Aubrey and let them stay, bringing with them their mugs and ingredients for s'mores.

Stacie caught her arm. "I'll go."

Chloe arched an eyebrow, giving Stacie a knowing look.

Stacie scoffed at the obvious implication. "We can restrain ourselves."

Chloe's other eyebrow went up.

"Okay, total lie, but I need to talk to her about something." Stacie admitted.

"Okay." Chloe nodded. "Try to convince her to ease up on the camp dictator activities tomorrow?"

Stacie laughed. "She might even let us eat solid food. Maybe even something warm."

"Then go forth," Chloe gestured her back towards the fire pit. "Because that oatmeal this morning was disgusting."

Stacie gave her a mock-salute, and turned to head back in the direction they'd come from. Behind her, she heard Beca ask where she was going, and Chloe's response. She also heard at least three more of her fellow Bellas catcall, whistle, and even a distinctive "bow-chicka-wow-wow" call after her. She hoped the darkness didn't hide the middle finger she gave in their direction.

Back at the fire pit, though, the plates and cups had been put together, and there was no sign of Aubrey. Stacie deflated, and picked up the bag of marshmallows Emily had brought, picking one and biting into it, considering her options. She _could_ head back to the tent, or she could find Aubrey's cabin and wait for the blonde there, but Aubrey could also elect to stay in the Lodge's office. Or worse, Aubrey could choose to head to her apartment nearby. Stacie popped another marshmallow in her mouth, and chewed as she weighed out her decision.

"Seriously, you're really supposed to stay with your group."

Stacie smiled, turning as Aubrey came up behind her and wrapped an arm around Stacie's waist, careful to keep her other hand that was holding a cup of coffee away, while Stacie slid one hand up to the back of Aubrey's neck. "I've missed you too."

She would never admit it, but sometimes Stacie liked these quiet moments with Aubrey more than the passionate, lust-fueled frenzy that tended to characterize the initial moments of their reunions, every time they got together. While it was always fun to be punctuate the first few minutes of their reunions with orgasms, it was when their kisses were slow and gentle, like they were now, that it served to remind Stacie that this was a relationship, that there was an infinite well of love and affection where the kisses came from.

Aubrey giggled into their kiss. "You taste like mud and marshmallows."

"And you taste like coffee and whiskey." Stacie replied, pulling back slightly to look at the other girl, who had tied her hair up in a messy bun in the time between the Bellas leaving the fire pit and Stacie's return. "Irish Cream?" She guessed.

"It's been a pretty long day." Aubrey confessed.

"You're telling me." Stacie gave her a wary look. "I don't recall those obstacles being that hard."

"Or you're rusty."

"Or my teammates aren't as good as my summer training buddy." Stacie pointed out.

"They _were_ at the disadvantage of not doing that course on a regular basis." Aubrey acknowledged. She stepped away, taking Stacie's hand and leading them to the seat that Ashley and Jessica had occupied earlier, and sat down, Stacie sitting beside her. Aubrey exhaled. "So… Bumper and Fat Amy."

Stacie giggled. "They're cute."

"He's a horrible human being."

"He's changed, Aubrey." Stacie assured her. Aubrey had previously filled her in on the reasons behind her fiery hatred for Bumper Allen, the former leader of The Treblemakers; and why she insisted on keeping the No Trebles rule Aubrey's predecessors had imposed, even through her own crush on a Treblemaker, and Stacie could understand, sort of, why Aubrey was so opposed to The Treblemakers on principle. But some of them — Jesse and Benji, to start — weren't actually so bad. And even Bumper, who had probably been the worst of them during Aubrey's time, had proven himself to be pretty decent. "Amy wouldn't like him if he was still as awful as you think."

Aubrey sighed, and conceded that point. She also acknowledged the fact that some people probably thought the same thing about her, and relied on Chloe and Stacie's judgment to prove her own decency as a person. She took a sip from her cup of coffee.

Stacie watched her. "Should you be drinking coffee at this hour?"

"I spent practically the whole day with the Bellas, I have work to catch up on." Aubrey informed her. Her expression expressed just how much she wasn't looking forward to working the rest of the night.

Stacie frowned, and brushed back a lock of hair from Aubrey's face. "I thought running an outdoor retreat was supposed to be the relaxing option from your corporate job."

Aubrey, who had leaned into Stacie's touch, visibly stilled at Stacie's statement.

Stacie noticed. "Aubrey?"

Aubrey pulled away from Stacie's touch, and looked thoughtfully at the other girl. "You didn't mention what your plans were after graduation."

"Are you honestly trying to distract me from that very obvious pause?" Stacie questioned.

"I'm pretty sure it's related." Aubrey admitted.

Stacie quirked her head to the side, looking at Aubrey curiously. "You're not going back to being Head Office Bitch, right?"

Aubrey chuckled lowly at the moniker she'd once had, back when she was working and channeling her will-bending abilities in a more corporate setting. "God, I hope not."

"I mean, Head Office Bitch was hot, but…"

"Stacie."

"Focus?"

"Yes."

Stacie nodded, and then shrugged her shoulders. "I actually wanted to talk to you about it."

"Graduation?"

Stacie nodded. "And what happens after." She watched Aubrey carefully, trying to discern the blonde's reaction, but Aubrey only faced her, giving her a focused and serious look. Stacie took a deep breath. "I got into grad school."

Aubrey's expression cleared at the announcement, and smiled brightly. "That's great, Stacie!" She leaned forward to give Stacie a proper congratulations, but Stacie held her hand out, pressing against Aubrey's sternum and holding her back and keeping her away. "No, no. No hugging. We're talking."

Aubrey arched an eyebrow, because _Stacie_ was keeping her away.

"I need to know you're not going to break up with me if we're going to have to do the long-distance thing again." Stacie told her.

Aubrey frowned. "Technically…"

"You know what I mean." Stacie interrupted, because she really did not want to cover the technicalities of their relationship in its earlier stages. "We're not doing that again."

Aubrey nodded in confirmation. "We're not doing long-distance again."

Stacie stopped, and frowned at the statement, because there were so many ways to interpret the declaration and some of those interpretations weren't pleasant. "That's not what I—"

"Where are you going?" Aubrey asked.

"Aubrey–"

"This is relevant, I promise." Aubrey insisted. She placed her cup on the edge of the fire pit, and faced Stacie. "Where are you going?"

"I got into MIT, but I also got letters from Berkley, Stanford and Georgia Tech. Some other schools." Stacie admitted. "I'm kind of over Georgia, though."

"CalTech?"

"Didn't apply." Stacie frowned at Aubrey. "You're dodging."

"So the options are Boston or California?" Aubrey pressed, ignoring the accusation.

"I'm waiting on Columbia, since Cornell isn't really in my top five." Stacie answered. "Your turn. Why the pause?"

Aubrey held up a hand in a stop gesture. "Last one."

Stacie narrowed her eyes in suspicion, but nodded curtly.

"Top choice?"

"MIT is offering partial." Stacie admitted. "It kind of wins by default. And, you know, being _MIT_." She gave Aubrey a pointed look. "Your turn."

Aubrey nodded, and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. This… could go either way. "You know how I still do freelance project work, as a holdover from my last job?"

Stacie slowly nodded.

"And remember how some of my investors sent some MBA douchebags to talk to me about expansion, and five-year plans for The Lodge?"

"I remember how much you scrubbed your skin raw." Stacie admitted. Aubrey made it a point not to talk too extensively about work-related matters with Stacie, but sometimes, like how much Aubrey needed to scrub off someone's figurative smarm from her skin, it couldn't be helped.

Aubrey nodded. "And I know more than anyone how much I kept on screwing up our relationship when there were several states in between us, and then my mom told me to reconsider my plans, given how quickly The Lodge found its niche and went into the black, so…"

Stacie, despite not knowing exactly what news was going to come from Aubrey, couldn't help but feel oddly optimistic about what Aubrey was about to tell her. "So…?"

"I applied for graduate school." Aubrey finished.

There was a very remarkable silence that followed the announcement, Aubrey expecting a barrage of questions or probably even some squeals of excitement, but was only met with a wide-eyed stare and silence.

Aubrey raised an eyebrow, waiting for a reaction.

Stacie, whose hand still rested on Aubrey's sternum, pushed her none-too-gently. "Well, keep talking, you psycho. Where'd you apply?"

"You mean, _where did I get in_." Aubrey corrected.

Stacie gave her a droll look.

"NYU, UCLA, Scheller, and—" Aubrey shrieked when she found herself pinned to the side of the bench with an annoyed Stacie Conrad hovering over her.

"Boston. Say you applied to Boston." Stacie growled. " _Say it_."

"Questrom and Harvard." Aubrey finally finished, acquiescing to the demand.

Stacie smiled in satisfaction. "You're going to Harvard."

"Oh, am I?"

Stacie nodded. "Show 'em how it's done."

Aubrey huffed a laugh. "I have no idea how it's going to get paid, but okay, Conrad. I'll go to Harvard."

"Please. I've seen your bank statements. I'm not just dating you for the sex, Posen."

Aubrey laughed. "I love you too."

Stacie laughed as well. She smiled fondly at Aubrey. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to apply to grad school?"

"I didn't want to get either of our hopes up." Aubrey admitted. "You were aiming for pretty top-tier schools, and I don't know how much of my work experience counts-"

"You were on the corporate fast track," Stacie reminded.

"I still wasn't sure," Aubrey confessed.

Stacie shook her head, bemused and oddly touched that Aubrey took her own graduate school applications under consideration regarding her plans, and gave Aubrey a kiss before she quickly pulled back and swore violently.

"What?" Aubrey asked, concerned.

"You're ruining my reputation, Aubrey."

Aubrey gave her a bewildered look.

"I'm the hot one!" Stacie insisted. "How am I going to grad school and in a relationship with a business geek that's going to Harvard? How is this my life?"

Aubrey shrugged. "Smart is hot?"

"Don't patronize me."

"I'm only dating you 'cause you're hot, you know." Aubrey laughed. "I love you for your body."

"You say the sweetest things." Stacie cooed, quickly brushing their lips together. "That's why I love you."

"I'm sorry I called you smart." Aubrey joked, grinning into their kiss.

"You better make it up to me." Stacie pouted when she pulled back. They had come a long way, to be able to make light of their insecurities that anyone would date either of them for just one particular reason. For a long time, Stacie had believed that people only wanted to be with her because she was hot and put out, and she knew Aubrey had the bewildering insecurity that people would only date her with an ulterior motive, so the fact that they could joke about it, even if only to each other, spoke of a trust that went beyond their romantic relationship.

Stacie paused, and gave Aubrey a careful, considering look. "What was that pause earlier?"

Aubrey sighed, because here was the second, more dangerous part of her decision to go to graduate school. "Going to grad school pretty much implies I have to leave The Lodge. And ditch the apartment. And since the whole point of applying to the same states you did is—"

"Yes. Of course yes." Stacie cut her off. She pressed her lips to Aubrey's, affirming her answer. Maybe it was a shallow reason, and maybe it was naïve to think proximity would keep their relationship intact, but they had done the selfless thing three years ago, choosing to stay apart to allow the other to grow, and maybe they had earned the right to choose to be a little selfish, this time around. Neither of them would insist on being apart again, not if they could help it. When Stacie broke the kiss, she grinned at Aubrey. "That whole train of thought better have ended with you asking me to move in with you."

Aubrey, somewhat dazed, blinked up at her. "…Sure?"

Stacie smiled in satisfaction, and gave Aubrey another kiss, this time the blonde underneath her responding properly, pulling herself up to a sitting position while Stacie straddled her thighs. After a few moments, though, Stacie pulled back in annoyance. "This is really uncomfortable."

"You know, I do have a bed around here."

Stacie met her gaze, saw her own desire reflected in Aubrey's eyes, and immediately knew that Aubrey's work and her own exhaustion were things of the past. But she couldn't help but tweak her girlfriend a little. "Are you telling me not to go back to the tent with the rest of my group, Aubrey? Isn't that breaking your precious rules?"

"I thought it didn't count if you're breaking the rules with the one who makes them?" Aubrey returned, volleying with one of Stacie's favorite retorts.

Stacie moaned in appreciation. "I love my influence on you."

Aubrey would do many, many things to hear that moan again. "Bed."

Stacie nodded her agreement. "Now."


	5. It's Driven Me Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast with the Barden Bellas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just really wanted to address the Deus ex Machina that was the Bellas' performance at Worlds in PP2. (That said, spoilers for Pitch Perfect 2, obviously.)

"You know, my mom really loved performing with the Bellas."

Aubrey looked up from her review of The Lodge's schedule of activities for that day, and turned to look in confusion at Emily, who had sat down opposite her at one of the tables in The Lodge's common mess hall. She honestly didn't know if she was happy or sad that the young girl seemed to think warmly of her, even despite the previous day's shenanigans. She looked around, and saw Stacie trying to cajole something from Carl, the man in charge of the breakfast service, and saw the other Bellas in line at the breakfast buffet. She turned back to Emily, and smiled as sincerely as she could, despite her confusion on why Emily was talking to _her_. "It's a special time."

"That's what she keeps telling me." Emily nodded. "She has all these stories, you know? The whole time I was growing up, she'd tell me everything there was to know about the Barden Bellas, and that was all I really wanted to be."

"Hope you have a Plan B, because just because being a Bella's for life doesn't mean it has to be your _life_." Aubrey said, fully aware of her hypocrisy in making that statement.

"Don't be mean," Chloe said, nudging her as she sat down beside Aubrey.

"You two are the worst examples of making the Bellas your life." Fat Amy noted, sitting beside Lilly, who sat beside Chloe.

Aubrey glared at her, while Chloe only gave her an exasperated glance, before Chloe turned back to Emily. "Is your mom going to Worlds?"

"That's the plan," Emily admitted. "But I don't know. I think I'm a little worried to perform in front of her on that big a stage."

"She'll be one of hundreds of people." Aubrey commented, flipping through her work.

"Hey, no work at the table." Stacie reprimanded, setting a tray down on the table and sitting opposite Aubrey, making Emily move to the side.

Aubrey glanced at the contents of the tray. She looked up at Stacie. "You got Carl to make you a breakfast burrito?"

"Told him his boss wanted one." Stacie shrugged, slicing into the prepared burrito. "Turns out I can get a lot of things done around here saying that."

"Yeah... you couldn't have figured that before we all had to share one tent?" Jessica asked from beside Cynthia Rose, who sat at Emily's opposite side.

Stacie shrugged. "Why, I wasn't sleeping in it."

"I knew it!" Flo exclaimed, further down the table at the end of Stacie's side of the table.

"Did Aubrey invite us over and have a retreat just so she can have sex with her girlfriend?" Ashley wondered aloud from her seat opposite Flo.

"I don't know if I'm mortified, or proud of you right now." Chloe joked to Aubrey.

Cynthia Rose chuckled, and over Chloe and Emily's food, held her hand up to Aubrey. "Up top."

Aubrey gave her a skeptical look. Across from her, Stacie rolled her eyes, and took the offered high-five.

Emily frowned, and glanced from Aubrey, to Stacie, and back. "You're dating?"

"Almost two years." Stacie nodded.

"Two? Are you sure?" Flo, who had joined the Bellas the year after Aubrey graduated, questioned.

"Yeah, you were complaining last year that Aubrey wouldn't even commit to Christmas and you were missing out on pressies from your admirers." Fat Amy reminded.

Aubrey arched an eyebrow at Stacie, who gave her a pointed look, because they were both at fault on that particular situation.

"God, you two are insane." Cynthia Rose shook her head. "Girl just wants a yes or no, not how long you two have been together."

"But how long _has_ it been?" Ashley queried, because she'd lost track a long time ago.

Stacie and Aubrey again shared a glance, because their history _was_ convoluted; but Aubrey shrugged, and Stacie stuck with her timeline. "Yeah. Almost two."

Emily turned to the rest of the group. "Did you know about this?"

"Kind of hard to miss, Legacy." Fat Amy noted.

Lilly whispered something about the obliviousness of most freshman Bellas.

Emily frowned. "But what about-" she stopped herself abruptly, eyes wide, and glanced at Stacie and Aubrey.

"Everyone Stacie flirts with?" Aubrey guessed.

"It's called an open relationship for a reason." Stacie added for the freshman's benefit.

"Which is a lot less open than they imply." Jessica muttered loudly. Beside her, Ashley nodded her agreement. Sharing quasi-sober companion responsibilities over Stacie whenever they were at parties made the both of them more than aware of just how monogamous Stacie had actually been, despite the label of her relationship with Aubrey.

Emily's jaw hung limply, unsure of just what to say or do.

"Shut your mouth, Legacy." Fat Amy piped in.

"Why does Emily look like she's been scarred for life?" Beca asked, joining the table, squeezing in between Stacie and Emily and placing her laptop on the table. She turned to Chloe. "I have some mix ideas I want to run by you."

Chloe nodded, handing over her phone. "Upload the music, so I can listen to it on the ride home?"

Beca paused, startled. "I was thinking you can just plug into my laptop."

Chloe shook her head. "You have mixes to work on. Just load them in."

Beca's looked confused, but obliged. "Oh. Okay." She took the phone, and opened up her laptop to do as requested.

Chloe felt everyone's eyes on her, and knew exactly the reasons why, but she ignored them in favor of turning to Aubrey. "Hey, you took World Lit, right?"

Aubrey, surprised at Chloe's apparent disregard of Beca's eagerness to have Chloe listen to her mixes - a far cry from when she practically hijacked Aubrey's iPod when they were seniors just to force her to listen to Beca's mixes - could only respond to the question. "Uh, yeah. Why?"

"I'll send you a copy of my final paper for Russian Lit, can you look it over?" Chloe asked.

Aubrey smiled in affection, recognizing Chloe's question for what it was: she was officially taking the necessary steps to graduate. "Sure. But I never took Russian Lit, though."

"You're like a walking and talking literary lovechild of Chekhov and Tolstoy, I think you'll be fine."

Stacie, who had been taking a drink of her apple juice, choked at the assertion. She swallowed the drink down, and burst out laughing, clearly agreeing.

Aubrey frowned. "I don't think I like that comparison much."

"Wait," Beca looked up. "Aren't Russian protagonists like, usually over-dramatic and over-educated assholes with family issues?" She paused after saying it out loud, and the daughter of a college Literature professor bit her lip to keep from smiling.

Further down the table, Lilly and Ashley nodded their agreement to Chloe's statement as well.

Aubrey glared at Chloe, who looked back at her in wide-eyed innocence. Aubrey turned back to Emily, choosing to rise above Chloe's snappy retort, and saw the girl looking hopelessly lost. "Emily. You OK over there?"

Emily glanced at her, and nodded. She hadn't realized how much the Bellas had sheltered her this whole time until terms like 'open relationships' and casual references to Russian novels started being thrown about.

"Welcome to college, freshman." Cynthia Rose quipped.

"Aubrey," Fat Amy began, addressing the older blonde. "Not that I'm complaining, really the opposite, but I notice we weren't woken at the ass-crack of dawn by your shrill, high-pitched yelling."

Most of the rest of the Bellas groaned at the reminder.

"I told you last night: you've rediscovered your sound." Aubrey reminded. "My work is done."

"We can win Worlds?" Emily asked.

"Sure." Aubrey shrugged.

"We can defeat Das Sound Machine?" Ashley asked, skeptical.

Aubrey laughed. "No."

Stacie shot her a glare, while both Beca and Chloe looked at her in alarm.

"Then what the hell, Aubrey?" Beca asked.

Aubrey feigned innocence. "Oh, I'm sorry. Were you expecting me to lie?"

"Yes!" Chloe exclaimed.

Aubrey gave her a wary glance. "They're champions for a reason: they perform as a synchronized whole. Beca here couldn't even differentiate musical breakdowns and harmonizing to singing competition-worthy songs _yesterday_. If you want to win Worlds, you either beat them at their own game, or you give the judges something they've never seen before."

"Yeah, but other than a girl who can sing bass," Beca motioned to Chloe, "we've pretty much won on the power of our ability to remix."

"We have numbers." Jessica piped in, drawing everyone's attention. She motioned to Ashley. "We've been watching the competition. Most of the groups that are competing are five to six people."

"So we have more sound layers." Cynthia Rose concluded.

"Just like DSM." Flo commented.

"We can play the underdog card." Emily suggested.

Lilly shook her head, as did Chloe and Cynthia Rose.

"We've won three years in a row. We were performing for _the president_ when this disaster started." Cynthia Rose reminded.

"And this is a singing competition." Aubrey reminded. "Underdogs are nice and fun, but most of the time you reach a point where you start thinking to yourself, 'Please get off the stage: You're actually terrible and you're making me super uncomfortable.'"

Chloe turned to her. "Why are you being such a horrible person right now?"

"Someone has to be the bad guy." Aubrey pointed out. She gestured at Beca. "She's afraid to rock the boat right now, after her meltdown yesterday. You've just reached the calm after a storm. And all these other girls need a leader which neither of you can be right this second. So..."

"You are so hot right now." Stacie told her, lust evident in her voice and gaze.

"Dude." Beca shook her head at Stacie. "Keep it in your pants."

"So what are you suggesting?" Fat Amy asked Aubrey.

"Well, for starters, you can't sing Wrecking Ball while in suspension." Aubrey started. She motioned towards Cynthia Rose. "No pyrotechnics."

Beca looked up and gazed thoughtfully at Aubrey, as if the answers she needed could be found with the blonde. "We can't beat DSM in their own game."

"Well, we can't sing When I'm Gone." Chloe noted.

"But we can sing something else." Beca said, her gaze never leaving Aubrey.

"Something DSM can't deliver." Aubrey nodded.

Beca narrowed her eyes, almost squinting, before she finally nodded. She tore her gaze away from Aubrey, and finally noticed everyone else was having breakfast. She glanced at everyone's trays, before her gaze landed on Stacie's. "How'd you manage a breakfast burrito?"

"I'm sleeping with the boss." Stacie deadpanned.

Beca's eyes widened, and she leaned away. "Yeah, not doing that." She stood up, and went to get herself some food.

There was a lull in conversation as everyone's attention turned to the food - which was warm and freshly-cooked and so many times better than the oatmeal and juice Aubrey had made them eat the previous morning - until someone questioned why they hadn't competed in an international competition before.

"Don't." Stacie said quickly, cutting off whatever Aubrey had been about to say. This was a conversation they have had more than once ever since the idea had formed in Chloe's mind, and it never reflected well on anyone. She turned to the rest of the Bellas. "Please don't encourage her."

Aubrey raised her hands in mock-surrender, and opted to glance around the room, looking for a member of the staff to ask them to get her breakfast. Across from her, Stacie rolled her eyes, and pushed the plate of breakfast burrito closer to Aubrey, offering her fork. Aubrey smiled at her in gratitude.

"You nauseate me." Beca muttered to them.

"Jealous?" Stacie retorted. Beca ignored her.

Chloe looked up, and glanced around the table. She smiled to herself, and turned to Aubrey. "How can you not miss this?"

"I can have breakfast with a bunch of other people any time I want." Aubrey said flatly. She glared at Stacie for the swift kick she received under the table.

"Okay, clearly Aubrey is a machine that doesn't process emotions very well, because I know I'm gonna miss these nerds too." Beca turned to Emily. "Your mom doesn't reminisce about the Bellas, like, all the time, right?"

Emily snorted. "She almost named me Bella, if that's what you're not hoping to hear."

"That's the most cruel thing I've ever heard." Cynthia Rose stated.

Both Aubrey and Flo opened their mouths to change her mind, but Stacie held up her index finger to stall Aubrey while Fat Amy shook her head at Flo.

"You know, she would have loved competing at the World Championships, I'm sure." Emily nodded to herself, reflecting on her mother. "To perform with the Bellas again, you know?"

The Bellas all murmured in agreement. Their time with the Bellas had been a major life event for all of them.

"Too bad we can't call her in for Worlds," Cynthia Rose noted.

"Well, technically, you could." Aubrey said idly as she checked her phone for incoming messages.

The whole group stopped, and all turned to look at her.

Aubrey paused at the scrutiny, and glanced at all the women sharing her table. "What?"

"What are you talking about?" Chloe asked.

Aubrey turned to Beca. "Bella by-law regarding membership."

Beca gave her a blank look.

"When we say 'Bellas for life' it's not lip service. It actually states in the by-laws that we can be called upon to represent the Bellas at any time if needed." Aubrey explained. She scrutinized the rest of the occupants of her table. "Seriously, it's in the official rules of the Barden Bellas."

"And how does that work out for Worlds?" Fat Amy questioned.

Aubrey frowned at them. "Didn't any of you read the rules and regulations of Worlds?"

"Chloe did." Flo pointed.

"I mostly just skimmed it." Chloe admitted to Aubrey.

Aubrey stared at her for a full beat, trying to figure out if Chloe was understating what she knew about the World Championships, before deciding to inform the rest, anyway. "You're technically not just the Barden Bellas anymore."

"What do you mean?" Ashley asked curiously, thus proving Aubrey right in assuming they were seriously uninformed on the rules of the Worlds.

Jessica suddenly dropped her fork. "Rule number five."

Everyone turned to the blonde on the opposite end of the table.

Jessica glanced at Aubrey, as if in confirmation of the information she was spouting. "We're representing the USA, not just Barden. The rules of the ICCAs no longer apply."

"Like?" Flo prompted.

Ashley stared at Jessica. "Like all members of the group should be collegiate students attending Barden."

Jessica nodded at her, then turned to Aubrey. "It means some of the rules that pertain to the ICCAs don't apply anymore, right?"

"But we qualified as national champions because of the ICCAs." Beca reminded.

"Governing rules of the Worlds are different." Aubrey demurred.

Everyone turned back to Aubrey.

"Seriously, ladies, read the rules." Aubrey told them.

Beca stared at her. "But that's real? You're serious?"

"Dixie Chicks serious." Aubrey nodded.

"Have I mentioned how hot your attention to detail with rules are?" Stacie asked Aubrey, and they exchanged a smile over a private joke only they knew.

"But won't that be a technicality?" Cynthia Rose asked, unaware of the communication between Aubrey and Stacie and effectively interrupting it. "We applied as being from Barden."

"Yeah, but if you can prove, like Emily's mom here, that she's as much a Barden Bella as the rest of you, then there's no problem." Aubrey pointed out. "Again: by-laws." She looked at Emily sternly. "Read the by-laws, do you hear me?"

Emily nodded quickly.

"We can really just haul in any past Bella for this?" Flo questioned. As an aside, she told the Bellas closest to her, "my relatives used to haul us children to work in the mornings."

"We could meet or beat DSM in the numbers game with this." Fat Amy noted. "If we get a lot of past Bellas."

"Like you." Chloe added, turning to Aubrey, who had engaged in a silent conversation with Stacie, but still registered what Chloe had said.

Aubrey knew better than to look at Chloe, fully aware that she would be on the receiving end of the wide-eyed puppy-dog expression of 'my best friend should be present for my Barden Bellas swan song', but she had always been a sucker for Chloe's drama, and so she stupidly glanced at the redhead. And there it was: Chloe's earnest expression and the annoyingly guileless wide-eyed innocence of her Disney Princess blue eyes, and Aubrey had no choice but to relent. "Like me."

Beca kept staring at Aubrey, the cogs of her brain starting to work with this new piece of information.

"Back off, Mitchell, this aca-genius is mine." Stacie warned, seeing Beca's apparent heart-eyes for Aubrey at that moment.

Beca turned to Stacie, and blinked. "I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I think I want to kiss her right now."

That was Stacie's turn to blink. "I think I might be OK with that."

Aubrey, who had turned back to her breakfast, lifted her fork in Beca's direction. "You're on my shit list for not reading the by-laws, Frodo. Go kiss the people on your team who actually read the rules."

Beca turned in Jessica's direction.

Ashley glared at her. "Don't even think about it."

 

 

 

 


	6. Will I Ever See What You Could

When the Barden Bellas left the mess hall of The Lodge, probably to go explore what else the outdoor retreat had to offer, they left behind Aubrey and Stacie, mostly to allow them some privacy before the Bellas had to leave to head back to the Barden University campus.

Aubrey regarded the other girl thoughtfully before she asked: "Do you want to go for a walk?"

Stacie recognized that pensive expression, and knew that something was nagging Aubrey's mind. She nodded.

"Lake?"

Aubrey agreed. After dropping off Aubrey's paperwork at The Lodge's office, they strolled along the path that led to the lake at the edge of the site, heading towards the side of the lake where the retreat's staff had placed beach chairs, away from the main thoroughfare. Opting to share a lounge chair, and having done this many times before, they were able to find a comfortable position quickly and easily.

Stacie waited Aubrey out, and while the older girl seemed to be content just sitting together, Stacie curled up beside her, the two of them staring out into the body of water that locals called a lake but was actually more of a really big pond. With Aubrey, she had learned, it was a delicate balance of knowing when to press and when to wait.

"Don't tell Chloe about Boston yet." Aubrey started.

Stacie glanced up at her. "You literally _just_ started talking again."

"I know. But focus on Worlds first. If she starts to freak out, for any reason, then spring it on her." Aubrey told her.

Stacie furrowed her brow.

The problem, Stacie had realized early on in their relationship, was that Aubrey Posen wasn't nearly as conceited and narcissistic as she had appeared to be during her senior year in Barden, when Stacie and most of her friends first got to know her. When she wasn't obsessed about winning the ICCAs and preserving Bella tradition, Aubrey was actually a warm and caring individual who concerned herself with the issues and worries of the people she cared for.

It was why she was still friends with almost all of her exes, why she'd had to take a large step back from the Barden Bellas after she had graduated, and why she tried so hard to keep out of Chloe and Beca's business; because Aubrey was a _doer_ , and when she saw a problem, she felt compelled to try and fix it.

"Just trust me." Aubrey assured her. "You'll need a bombshell in your back pocket."

"Okay..." Stacie acquiesced, even if she didn't quite understand why. But talking about Chloe piqued her interest about something that had occurred during breakfast. "Do you know why she went brick wall on Beca earlier?" She asked, referring to when Beca had suggested for Chloe to listen to her new mixes with her but had been rebuffed in favor of having the songs loaded onto her phone to be listened to at a later time, and turning instead to talk to Aubrey. It was a major departure from Chloe's usual eager response to anything Beca, and Stacie knew she hadn't been the only one to notice.

Aubrey exhaled. "I don't know. I could be wrong, but I think that was her taking the first steps to getting over Beca."

Stacie sat up abruptly, and turned to face Aubrey. "What?"

"Look, I don't like it any more than you do. She's an annoying runt of a thing, but Beca gets Chloe more than anyone else has in a long time, and Chloe really likes her. But there's Jesse, and between Chloe never going to break a couple up just for her benefit and Beca's glaring obliviousness, I don't think it's gonna happen anytime soon."

Stacie pouted. "But... Bechloe!"

"I thought Fat Amy called them Bloe?"

"What do _you_ call them?"

"An abomination against all that's right and good, but that's really just Beca." Aubrey admitted.

"Don't be mean."

Aubrey sighed in concession, and pulled Stacie back into her arms. When Stacie was comfortably settled, Aubrey took one of Stacie's hands in her own, and twined their fingers together. "Stacie?"

"Hmm?"

"Why didn't you share an opinion during breakfast?"

Stacie hesitated, but chose to play it coy. "But I did. I opined how hot you are."

"Stacie."

Stacie sighed, and curled further into Aubrey's body. She knew, of course, what Aubrey was talking about: over breakfast, when the Bellas were conferring with Aubrey about the World Championships and their chances against Das Sound Machine, everyone but Stacie had formulated some kind of opinion or suggestion to add to the forum. Stacie had pretty much been Aubrey's cheerleader during the discussion, which she should have known wouldn't go unnoticed by her girlfriend. "My input about Worlds is the same as it's ever been since this whole thing began."

"And what's that?"

Stacie tilted her head back to look at Aubrey, who watched her with features etched with concern. She stated the truism she upheld from the moment the Barden Bellas got off the stage at The Kennedy Center. "'Ask Aubrey.'"

Aubrey's eyes widened, and she blatantly stared at her.

Stacie shrugged, as if to dismiss how major that admission was. "I know, it's sad and terrible and if you were a guy sets back the feminist movement by a century, but you know a cappella better than I ever would, and I know you've YouTube'd the hell out of DSM, so you know what we're up against." When nothing was forthcoming from Aubrey, she continued, "I mean, when this whole thing went down, you were the first person I called and we never would have issued an apology that fast if you hadn't told us to."

"Which backfired." Aubrey reminded.

"Which wouldn't have if we'd listened to you and had Beca and Chloe give the press conference instead of letting Amy issue the apology herself." Stacie pointed out. "I'm not saying you have all the answers, but when it comes to a cappella, I love Chloe and Beca something fierce and I know Jessica knows more about it than she lets on, but you're kind of my leading expert on making music with my mouth."

They both paused at that last part.

"That really _does_ sound dirty, doesn't it?" Aubrey mused.

"How are people allowed to just say that?" Stacie wondered. She shook her head, and turned back to Aubrey. "So, you know: when it comes to a cappella, I refer to What Would Aubrey Do – other than throw up, and sorry but I'm never letting you live that one down – but if you're actually there, I don't feel the need to try and contribute."

Aubrey was still gobsmacked by Stacie's confession, and after almost two years of being together, the fact that Stacie could still surprise her was an interesting development, at least to Aubrey.

Sure, she'd felt appreciated before, and had been told enough times in the past when she'd done a good job, but not like this. She had never been made to feel so special, so _worthy_ , especially when one considered the fact that Stacie was part of a nationals-winning group _three times_ to Aubrey's one, and still Stacie deferred to _her_. And it wasn't a simple case of hero-worship, no, Stacie just recognized that there were some things Aubrey was just good at and understood better, and allowed her the opportunity to show it.

When the fiasco at The John F. Kennedy Center went down, she hadn't been anywhere near DC, but had been watching the live telecast like so many had. Aubrey had known immediately what was in store for The Barden Bellas given the size of the audience that had witnessed the spectacle – a nationally-telecast performance was a blessing and curse in this case – and when her phone had rang with her girlfriend's number, her instinct after commiserating with Stacie had been to dispense public relations advice.

Because if anyone who had ever been a member of the Barden Bellas could understand saving face in the aftermath of such public humiliation, it was Aubrey Posen.

And for all her awfulness as a person, she remembered Alice, the Barden Bellas captain before Aubrey, who had been a sterling example of Bellas grace after the 2011 ICCA Finals. The immediate response back then had been to issue an apology, whether or not she had believed in it, but in a rare moment of magnanimity, Alice had not singled Aubrey out for what had happened, nor had she thrown Aubrey under the figurative bus: instead, it had been a Barden Bellas apology, issued by its leader.

(How she reacted privately was a whole other matter, and sometimes still crept into Aubrey's nightmares.)

Aubrey had tried to impart that same instruction to Beca and Chloe through Stacie, but for reasons she still didn't understand, they had allowed Fat Amy, who had no filter to begin with, to make the statement even as the group had shown up collectively at the press conference.

At the time Aubrey had thought Stacie had just called her because of their relationship, but to now be told that she had been the first person the girl had called because she trusted Aubrey to know _what to do_ , to be able to give the Bellas direction, was...

"Bet you feel bad about letting us figure this out by ourselves now, huh." Stacie quipped, smiling knowingly at the older girl.

Well, yeah, now that she mentioned it. "Maybe?"

Stacie rolled her eyes and shook her head, having known better than to expect Aubrey to admit to it outright.

Since the Bellas were suspended from being able to do any more appearances in the wake of what the media had called "Muffgate", the girls had split up to avoid having to give any more statements, some, like Beca, Chloe, Flo and Lilly, had returned to campus to await further directives from the National A Cappella Association while the rest retreated far away from Barden. Stacie had gone to a retreat in the middle of the woods. At the end of the summer, though, Aubrey had dropped Stacie off at the Barden University campus for the start of the school year, with the reassurance that the Barden Bellas would bounce back from whatever the board would hand out.

Aubrey had, of course, not expected the part that since Fat Amy had pretty much flashed her crotch at the leader of the free world, the punishment would go beyond what the guiding rules the International Championships of Collegiate Acappella stated.

In her defense, though, Aubrey had been juggling finishing out an employment contract with a Fortune 500 company while also getting her own enterprise off the ground, and she had figured that a group of nine women about to graduate college would figure out how to get themselves out of the hole they'd found themselves in.

She had gravely misjudged how the Bellas' reigning captains would respond to pressure.

But Aubrey had made herself a promise three years ago, when she'd graduated and had to leave the Barden Bellas behind: for her and the Bellas to move on and keep moving forward, someone had to draw the line separating the past and the present, and Aubrey had elected it to be her. She had taken a step back from the Bellas then, and she'd told herself that unless they asked for her help or advice, she wouldn't offer it to them.

Dating Stacie and keeping that pledge had been a delicate balance, but Stacie had been remarkable in separating Aubrey-as-her-girlfriend to Aubrey-former-Bellas-captain. And the rest of the Bellas hardly ever asked for help, save for when Beca would corner her whenever she'd visit Stacie in the Barden Bellas house, and talk about a cappella and the ICCAs with her.

That is, until the past few weeks. What had started as Stacie updating her on where the Bellas were in getting reinstated with the ICCAs and their progress involving the World Championships, quickly devolved into complaints about Beca's absence and Chloe's obsessive behaviour and the German champions that had usurped their national tour. Chloe also started calling her at odd hours of the day and night to ask random questions about a cappella, hinting but never outright asking for Aubrey to help.

Stacie turned, resting her weight on her elbows as she faced Aubrey and making their position on the beach recliner a tighter fit. "You were pretty decided on letting us deal with this ourselves. What made you change your mind?"

Aubrey still had no idea what happened, but suddenly the emails from the rest of the Barden Bellas started coming in, and were increasingly difficult to ignore.

"You guys asked for help." Aubrey admitted. "And Chloe finally stopped being a jerk and outright asked me to help."

"Oh, _I'm_ the jerk?"

Aubrey and Stacie both turned, to find Chloe and several other Bellas approaching.

"Wow, seriously, out in the open?" Beca asked, noticing the couple's position on the lounge chair.

"Don't you have an elsewhere to be?" Aubrey retorted.

Chloe slapped Aubrey's leg, and sat at the foot of the chair Aubrey and Stacie occupied. "Explain yourself, Posen. _I'm_ the jerk?"

Aubrey kicked her back, earning herself a squawk of outrage and indignation from the redhead, before Chloe pounced on her friend, forcing Stacie to leave the chair and move out of their way.

Stacie gave one weary look at the impromptu wrestling match that Aubrey and Chloe were engaged in, and shot Beca a glare. "Thanks a lot, Frodo."

"Awww, did we interrupt cuddle time?" Fat Amy teased.

"Limited time together and living in separate states is harsh on the afterglow, okay?" Stacie snapped.

"Geez, didn't know Sergeant Posen's bad mood was sexually-transmitted." Cynthia Rose muttered.

Whatever anyone was about to say next was interrupted when the wrestling duo left the recliner, with Chloe dragging Aubrey to the edge of the water. "I'm the jerk?!"

Stacie credited her quick reflexes for when Aubrey, obviously conceding to the inevitable, tossed her phone over and Stacie caught it. Aubrey and Chloe hit the water almost immediately after.

Beca grabbed Aubrey's phone from Stacie's hands, checking it for something that had been annoying her since they had arrived, and frowned at what she saw. "How is she getting wifi?"

Stacie grabbed the phone back, and set it on the beach chair. "They scramble the signals for almost everyone."

"What?" Beca stared at her. "Wait, 'almost'? Are _you_ getting wifi?"

Stacie gave her a wry look.

"Of course she is, Beca." Ashley pointed out.

"She's sleeping with the boss." Jessica reminded.

Beca fumed. "I can't believe this."

"Becs, you need to chill." Cynthia Rose told her. Beside Beca, Lilly nodded.

"I'll 'chill' when I get to check my emails, _damn_ , Aubrey." Beca muttered, shooting a glare at the two girls in the lake, both of whom were throwing their shoes over to the shore. She was too busy glaring in Aubrey's direction to notice the girls around her setting aside their own phones and shoes, with Lilly retrieving Beca's phone from the Bellas captain's pocket.

Aubrey and Chloe's matching wide-eyed looks were Beca's only warning before she was swept up by several people and tossed into water, followed closely by the rest of the group jumping in.

When the group stopped splashing each other and trying to dunk each other under the water, they swam idly in a concentrated part of the lake, knowing it could very well be the last moment of relaxation they would have before the final weeks of the school year kicked in and with finals, graduation and the World Championships in Copenhagen just around the corner, they were going to be extremely busy.

"You know, this place isn't so bad, when Aubrey isn't yelling at us to do physical activities." Amy observed. Several of the girls nodded their agreement.

"Yeah, we should totally make this a regular thing." Chloe agreed.

"And Emily's gonna need help next year putting a new group to competition form," Beca added. "A retreat could help."

Aubrey cut a glance to Stacie, the two of them knowing it would take some creative scheduling to accommodate the Barden Bellas at The Lodge if they were going to be in Boston.

Chloe turned to Aubrey, oblivious to the undercurrent going on between her two friends. "What do you say, Aubrey? Fun-filled bonding retreat next year? Put together a program specially for the new Bellas?"

Aubrey faced her. "I guess it's feasible, but you know what?" She tilted her head in Stacie's direction. "Ask Stacie."


End file.
